


The Incident at the Zoo

by notgeorgelucas



Series: Tales from the Korraverse [10]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Korrasami is Canon, Makorrasami could be, natural laws have no pity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 19:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18745669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notgeorgelucas/pseuds/notgeorgelucas
Summary: The Republic City Zoo is debuting a brand-new penguin exhibit, and the whole city is abuzz. And of course the Avatar and her family are going to attend--what could possibly go wrong?





	The Incident at the Zoo

“Hey, Asami!” Korra was all smiles as she waved the front section of The Republic City Times around. “Did you see? They’ve built a brand-new penguin exhibit at the zoo!”

“Really?” Asami took the newspaper and skimmed the article. “Sounds pretty interesting. Looks like they’ve put a lot of work into it—strange they didn’t contact Future Industries about it. I’d have been happy to provide some funding for it.” She reached one particular paragraph and stiffened slightly. “Ah. Varrick financed it. I should have known.”

“I’ll bet they called Dad and asked him to round some penguins up,” Korra said excitedly. “Those things are really stupid—he could have gotten them a bunch in no time. Hey girls, did you see the newspaper article about the zoo?”

Shen and Katara nodded. “It sounds like a really fun exhibit!” Kat exclaimed. “Will we be going to see it when it opens this weekend?”

“I don’t see why not,” Asami nodded. “I’m sure they’d love to have your mother there as a representative of the South.”

“We should also take Naga and Aang,” Shen suggested. “They are also indigenous to the South.”

“That’s right, they are!” Asami beamed. “That’s quite a big word, Shen, and you used it correctly. I’m very proud.”

“Thank you.” Shen held up her slightly-battered copy of “True Facts About the South”. “I’ve been doing a great deal of reading on the subject. Daddy says it’s important to be well-read.”

“Shen’s ‘Daddy’s Little Suck-up’,” Kat snickered, then her face brightened up. “If we take the dogs, maybe Aunt Pema could take Kuruk! And **Rohan** might be there…!”

“Katara is overly obsessed about Rohan,” Shen pointed out. “They call that ‘gerontophilia’, you know.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Kat snarled, “but you take it back, shithead!”

“Young lady,” Asami jumped in, “where did you learn that word, and at what point did you think it was suitable to use in conversation?”

Kat blinked innocently. “Mama Korra said it the other day about President Raiko. I thought it was okay. After all, I’m just an impressionable child.” Asami shot a glare at her wife, who had the good grace to blush.

“Kat, you know perfectly well that’s not acceptable. Maybe I should mention this to your father.”

“I wouldn’t,” Shen commented. “You should hear him swear when you’re not around. He learned it all from Chief Beifong.”

Asami glanced up at the heavens and wondered why on earth they’d wanted a big family. “AT ANY RATE…Shen, honey, I don’t know where you found that word, but in this case, you’re using it wrong and that’s not a nice thing to say about your sister. Now, why don’t we all get ready for dinner, hmmm?”

*****

“Yes, I saw the article yesterday,” Pema said as she handed Korra a cup of tea. “It sounds like a wonderful exhibit. We’re all looking forward to it.”

“We’re taking the dogs,” Korra nodded. “I was wondering if Kuruk might come, too.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! Kuruk loves the zoo,” Pema beamed. “When we visit, he always insists on visiting the badgermoles. They get nose-to-nose with him and have such a good time!”

“At least until he realizes that he’s there to see the vet,” Tenzin chuckled darkly.

“Kuruk is a good boy,” Pema said firmly. “At any rate, we’ll certainly attend the opening. It sounds like it’s going to be quite an event.”

“I would agree,” Tenzin nodded sagely as he reached for his cup. “I think this is the sort of thing that would help people understand the Water Tribes and the world they inhabit.”

“Oh really?” Kya raised a questioning eyebrow. “That’s novel, coming from you, little brother.”

“Yeah,” Bumi agreed. “Considering how much you hated penguins as a kid…”

“What?” Korra turned toward Tenzin. “You hate penguins?”

“I never said that,” Tenzin retorted, blushing slightly. “I have respect for all creatures, you know that.” He glared at his siblings, who were snickering and shaking their heads. “Besides, that was a long time ago!”

“What was a long time ago?” Pema asked.

Before Tenzin could reply, Bumi jumped in. “I think Tenzin was five or so, right Kya? Yeah, around there. Anyway, we’d gone to the South to see Grandpa and attend the Winter Festival, and Dad always made a big thing about going penguin sledding whenever we visited. He was too big for it by then, of course, but he thought we kids would love it.”

“Ehhh, it was okay,” Kya shrugged, still grinning. “We mostly did it to make Dad happy.”

“So anyway, there we were, and Dad decided it’s time for Tenzin to have his very first penguin sledding experience. Mom wasn’t crazy about it, but you know how Dad was once he got an idea in his head. So up we went to the top of Matawanta Hill, and Dad went so far as to personally pick the penguin Tenzin would be riding.”

“Tenzin looked like he was about to meet Sozin himself,” Kya noted.

“I was only five!”

“He showed Tenzin how to lure the penguin over, and spirits know how but he actually managed to get the thing to waddle over.” Bumi could barely contain his laughter. “So Tenzin got into position, and Dad gave things an added boost of wind to send them off—probably way too much, looking back. You could hear Tenzin screaming all the way down…”

“…and then…” Kya said through her tears. Her shoulders shuddered as she fought a valiant, futile battle to keep from breaking out in laughter. Nearby, Pema was having a similar struggle.

“…and then Tenzin and the penguin soared straight into the bay!” Bumi surrendered to the inevitable and laughed himself silly. Even Pema was snickering behind her teacup, and Tenzin himself had turned tomato red. “Fortunately, Uncle Sokka saw the whole thing and dove in to rescue his poor nephew. Mom dried him out and proceeded to read Dad all three volumes of the riot act about endangering her little boy, the Future of the Air Nation, so on and so on…”

“No one ever told me how to stop the damn thing,” Tenzin grumbled. “It wasn’t my fault!”

“Man!” Korra said through her laughter. “I wish I could have seen it!”

“Well, you did, in a way!” Kya pointed out.

“You know, this explains why you forbade the children from doing it the last few times we were down there,” Pema said to her husband. “And why you got so upset when Ikki pressed the issue.”

“Well, it isn’t safe!” Tenzin groused. “And at any rate, I doubt there’ll be any penguin sledding going on with this exhibit!”

“Probably not,” Korra agreed. “I talked to Dad, and they sent fifteen penguins up here. They should have plenty to show off.”

****

Varrick rubbed his chin and studied the zoo exhibit layout one final time. “Yeah, that should be about right,” he said to his wife. “Two cameras should cover everything for the event. And remind the guys to get some good shots of President I’m Perpetually Down In the Polls. Sheesh.”

“It’ll be fine, dear,” Zhu Li assured him. “It’s a nice way of getting some goodwill from his office, and a little civic duty never hurts either.” She rolled up the map and smiled. “By the way, were we going to take Yangchen to the debut?”

Varrick turned to her and blinked several times. “What? Why would we do that?”

“Well, I was talking to Tenzin the other day, and he mentioned that his wife was taking Kuruk with them,” she informed him. “Apparently Korra will be taking Naga and Aang as well.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Varrick muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Hey, let me see that map again, will you?” He consulted it carefully and added two new marks.

“Zhu Li…let’s make that **four** cameras.”

****

“I thought we’d never find a place to park,” Korra said as the unusual party strolled toward the new exhibit. “Half of Republic City must be here.”

“Well, in all fairness, we have special needs where a parking space is concerned,” Asami teased. “It’s not every Satomobile that has to be big enough to carry four humans and two polar bear dogs. It was very nice of them to let us park around back.”

“Korra’s not kidding about the crowd,” Mako said sternly, his eyes trying to take in everything at once.

Kat tugged on his shoulder. “Daddy, can I have a boost?”

“Why, sweetheart?”

“That way she can find0 Roooooo-han,” Shen snorted, rolling her eyes for good measure. “Her truuuuuuue luv.”

“Up yours, shi—” Kat glanced up at her father’s stern expression and decided to let it go.

Mako sighed and shook his head. “No sneaking off, all right? You stay with me at all times.”

“Yes, Daddy,” two angelic voices replied.

“Naga’s taking it in stride,” Korra noted, giving her friend a pat on the neck. “Aang, you doing okay, big guy?” The younger dog maintained his position alongside (but two steps behind) his mother, as a good son should. “It’s good to socialize him more,” Korra smiled, waving to a few onlookers. “Hey, I can see Tenzin and Pema over there!”

“Where?” Kat demanded excitedly. “Is Rohan there too?”

“I see him. The bald head and arrow make him pretty easy to spot,” Asami grinned. Mako quickly reached down to take Katara’s hand (reluctantly on her part because it kept her from racing to her beloved Rohan) and nodded for Shen to take the other. Fortunately, having two polar bear dogs parted the crowd quite quickly and effectively. “Good morning, everyone!”

“Hello, Asami!” Pema responded. “You brought the entire family too, I see. Look, Kuruk—it’s your mother! He was such a happy boy this morning—he got to greet the badgermoles, and I know he always looks forward to that!”

Kat looked up at her father, who nodded and released her hand. “Rohan!” she squealed, lunging for the young airbender’s arm.

“Isn’t this great?” said Korra. “The zoo must be thrilled with the turnout! It looks like the entire city came to see the exhibit!”

“Are you kidding?” Varrick said as he and he Zhu Li came into view. “We all know that it’s because no one can resist President Pissy-Pants giving one of his overblown and overlong speeches about how it’s all about him, you know?” He rolled his eyes for emphasis.

“Good morning, Varrick,” Asami said coolly. “Zhu Li.” She glanced around. “Where are your children?”

“Li Na is keeping an eye on them by the fence,” Zhu Li replied. “I have to say; I never expected a Kyoshi Warrior to be so good with children.”

“Heh, having a combination bodyguard and nanny saves us a ton of money,” Varrick declared.

“I’m a little surprised you didn’t bring Yangchen,” Pema said. “I’m sure she would have loved to be here.”

“Ohhh, I have no doubt of that,” Varrick replied. “But do I look crazy? Don’t answer that, Sato.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Anyway, I know better,” Varrick continued. “I was born and raised down South…”

“It looks like Raiko’s starting,” Tenzin interjected.

“Great. Wake me up when he’s finished, willya?”

*****

“Finally,” Varrick sighed fifteen minutes later. “Zhu Li, we need to make a mover about Raiko—the timeless tale of a man hopelessly in love with his own voice.”

“Dear, that’s very mean of you,” Zhu Li replied with a smirk. “No matter how true it might be.”

“He does go on,” Tenzin agreed, stifling his own yawn. “Ah, here we go—they’re dropping the curtain.”

“Finally get to see what all my money went toward,” Varrick muttered. “Zhu Li, are the cameras rolling?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Good. I don’t want to miss a minute of this.”

“Wow,” Korra gasped. “They did an incredible job with the enclosure. Looks just like home—and here they come!” Fifteen plump penguins lurched into view, blinking and squawking as they spread out.

“’A group of penguins on land is called a _waddle_ ’,” Shen recited from her book. “See, Daddy?”

“That’s very good, sweetheart,” Mako nodded. “You sure you want to read instead of watch the animals?”

“It’s important to know true facts,” she said solemnly. “Did you know that penguins’ eyes work better underwater than in the air?”

“No, I didn’t,” Korra said absently. “Oh, that’s neat—the zoo built a little hill so that they can slide into the lake! Isn’t that great?” She laughed along with the audience as the creatures tumbled forward and plunged into the artificial lake.

“Hey, Tenzin,” Kya snickered, “wanna go penguin sledding again?”

“Yeah,” Bumi added. “The water looks fine!”

“Hmph.”

Naga’s eyes had in the meantime narrowed into narrow slits and her posture had stiffened into a more aggressive pose. A soft growl slipped past her tightly-clenched teeth, but the noise from the crowd covered it entirely. Aang was nearby, getting loves and pats from a group of children and paid his mother no mind either. For his part Kuruk was greedily lapping up the fallen remains of an ice cream cone. Priorities.

Mako, however, was immediately alert to the change in Naga’s demeanor. “Korra…” he began, but at that moment Naga leaped into the air in a graceful arc, landing on the far end of the display. Aang looked up, blinked, and followed a moment later.

Kuruk started to follow suit but a sharp “STAY” from Pema froze him in his tracks. “LIE DOWN,” she ordered in a tone that brooked no disobedience. Kuruk glanced over at his mother and brother, looked back at his mistress, and whimpered. “NOW.” Slowly, reluctantly, the dog obeyed, still whining quietly.

“Tenzin, give me your cloak,” Pema demanded in a low voice.

“What? This is brand new! What are you…?” Rolling her eyes, Pema deftly snapped it off his shoulders and draped it over Kuruk’s head. “Pema…!”

“I use a blanket on him during thunderstorms; it seems to calm him down. Kuruk, stay! Good boy.”

“Naga? Naga, what are you doing? Get back here right now!” Korra yelled to no avail. Naga was hunched down, slowly circling the befuddled penguins and growling ominously, followed a moment later by Aang. “Naga, what are you DOING?” she cried.

“She’s engaging in predatory behavior,” Shen said helpfully. “According to my book, polar bear dogs like to trap large groups of penguins because it increases the odds of them getting enough to eat.”

“I know that, honey,” Korra snapped impatiently. “But…NAGA! AANG! GET BACK HERE! RIGHT NOW!”

“I don’t think they’re listening,” Mako noted.

“No kidding!” Korra cried. “NAGA! AANG!”

“I really wish she hadn’t named that dog after my father,” Tenzin grumbled from nearby.

“Asami? What do I do?” Korra looked around wildly. “Why won’t she mind me?”

“I think she’s more focused on her future snack,” Asami sighed. “This isn’t going to end pretty, is it?”

“They slowly tighten the circle to reduce the chance of any penguins getting away,” Shen lectured to a small, mesmerized gaggle of children. “Usually they go three or four loops before…” 

“THERE SHE GOES!”

****

 “Man, this is incredible!” Varrick exclaimed. “Zhu Li, are we getting all this?”

“It appears so…duck, sir.” A chunk of penguin entrails narrowly missed his head, smacking the ground with a wet thud. “They’re quite enthusiastic, aren’t they?”

“I’ll say!”

“You knew this was going to happen?” Tenzin demanded.

“You didn’t?” Varrick declared. “I was born and raised down South, remember? My dad took me out once to see first-hand what a polar bear dog could do. This isn’t a zoo display to those two dogs—it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet! And you wondered why I didn’t bring Yangchen?” He suddenly noticed that Kuruk  was cowering under a red cloak nearby, whimpering pitifully. “Wow,” he said to Pema. “I have to say I’m impressed.”

“Kuruk is my good boy,” she said firmly. “He does what he’s told.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Varrick muttered under his breath. A moment later he nudged a just-landed penguin’s remains over to where Kuruk lay. A nose poked out from under the cloak, sniffed, and a moment later the guts were long gone. “You earned it, big guy,” Varrick said softly. “I know what it’s like, you know?”

****

“I…think they’re done,” Mako said slowly ten minutes later. He surveyed the bloody surroundings and shuddered. The crowd of horrified parents and fascinated children had long since fled. The enclosure was splattered with blood and various pieces of penguins, and the dogs were currently enjoying a leisurely after-dinner swim in the reddish pool.

“You mustn’t be angry with Naga, Daddy,” Shen said. “She was only behaving as an apex predator would and following her instincts.”

“NAGA!” Korra was still screaming. “YOU GET YOUR BUTT UP HERE THIS MINUTE! YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE, YOUNG LADY! AND YOU TOO, AANG! RIGHT NOW! DO YOU HEAR ME?”

“I don’t think she’s listening,” Kat commented. “At least she’s washing all the blood off her fur.”

“That’s good,” Shen nodded. “That way there won’t be any embarrassing blood stains in the back of the car. It’s hard to get those out of leather…”

“I…I…” Korra groaned and turned toward Mako. “Get them out of here, please?”

“Come on, girls. Ice cream.” He held out his hands expectantly and the girls obeyed, though they protested vehemently every step of the way.

“Well, this is going to be a day no one forgets,” Korra groaned as she leaned over the guard rail.

“I’m sure,” Asami nodded. “For one thing, apparently Varrick filmed the entire thing. He was beyond excited when he and Zhu Li left a little while ago.” She glanced over at the pool. “Heads up, I think they’re finally coming out.”

“I am never going to be allowed to set foot here again,” Korra moaned. “Heh—I’ll bet Raiko is already coming up with some new law that bans polar bear dogs and Avatars within the city limits.” She shook her head resignedly. “What was I thinking?”

“Hey, we thought Naga would…look out.” Naga (and a second later, Aang) soared through the air, landing on the pavement with a wet thud. They casually shook themselves dry as Korra quickly deflected the deluge back into the pool.

Korra marched up to a singularly unrepentant Naga. “Lady, you are in big, big trouble! When we get home, I am going to…”

Naga interrupted her tirade with a loud, smelly belch.

“Oh boy.” Asami noticed a harried group of executives cautiously approaching, with a pack of ravenous reports close behind. “Why don’t you take the dogs home? I’ll handle all this and call the office for a car later.”

“You sure?” Korra sighed. “I know this was my fault…”

“No. It was **our** fault and I know how to take care of problems like this.” Asami flashed that irresistible smile. “Go on.”

“You win.” Korra turned toward her dogs. “Okay, you two—MARCH. And when we get home, you are going to get punished big-time, you hear me? I cannot believe what you two did, and in front of all those kids—what are their parents going to tell them about your naughty behavior…”

Asami watched her pass through the gates, then took a deep breath and smiled. “Gentlemen…”

*****

The Sato family returned a few hours later. Korra lay on the sofa, a damp rag covering her face. “Well? How bad?” she asked from under the cloth.

“Oh, the zoo trustees were very polite,” Asami assured her. “They expressed their great appreciation of your efforts on their behalf, to say nothing of the endowments Future Industries will be providing in the very near future.”

“Do they understand how sorry I am and how I’ll do anything to make amends?”

“Korra…” Asami sat down beside her partner. “It’s not as bad as it could have been. We can still take Naga and Aang to the zoo veterinary clinic. They’d just prefer that we use the service entrance in back from now on.” She patted Korra’s arm. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I guess Varrick and Pema are getting letters too,” Korra said glumly.  “Oh, Pema must be furious.”

“Oh she is, trust me,” Asami nodded. “She pointed out that Kuruk minded her stayed put the entire time, and how he was her good boy, and how disappointed he’d be that he couldn’t see the badgermoles any more…”

“Did it make any difference?”

“Nope.”

Korra lifted the cloth from her face. “What about Varrick?”

“He wasn’t there, like I said. I doubt he really cares one way or another, to be honest.” Asami rubbed Korra’s shoullder gently. “It’s going to be okay…” She glanced up as their daughters bounded into the room. “Girls, Mama Korra is not in a good mood right now…”

Kat, however, would not be dissuaded. “Mama, you need to make up with Naga RIGHT NOW,” she demanded, folding her arms over her chest for emphasis.

“Yeah,” Shen agreed. “She’s lying down in the shed, whimpering and looking so disconsolate.” She glanced up at Asami. “Did I say that right?”

“Yes, you did, very good,” Asami smiled. “What is Aang doing?”

“Whatever Naga tells him to do,” Shen reported. “He’s a real momma’s boy, very…” She frowned, searching for the right word. “Submissive,” she finally concluded.

“Disconsolate my fanny,” Korra snorted. “She’s probably got some indigestion from all those penguins, that’s all.”

“Mama, Naga is your partner and friend,” Kat continued fiercely. “You should forgive her! She only did what her instincts told her to do!”

Korra looked up, a bit irked at being lectured by a six-year-old. “Young lady--Naga,” she said tightly, “is supposed to obey her mistress at all times. And that means when she suddenly gets it into her head to jump over the enclosure fence and attack a brand-new penguin exhibit and her mistress tells her to return, she should RETURN!”

Shen thought about this. “Maybe her bloodlust took over. I mean, there was a lot of blood...”

“And she was doing her job as a mommy!” Kat declared. “I mean, when is Aang ever going to learn how to hunt penguins! We hardly ever go down to visit Grandpa and Grandma, and he always has to stay up here when we do! That isn’t fair!”

“By the way, you don’t want to go into the shed,” Shen warned.

“Why not?”

“They’re farting something fierce. Daddy almost fainted when he opened the door.”

****

Korra took a deep breath and centered herself. “I can do this,” she told herself as she reached for the telephone. “Asami’s done her part; now it’s time to do mine.

“I mean, he’ll understand,” she muttered as she dialed a particular number. “It’s been a week, right? Things happen, and it’s really not that big a deal when you think about it. He’s…. Hi! Dad! Guess who?

“Oh, we’re all doing good,” she said with false enthusiasm. “Shen and Kat are growing by the day, and they wanted me to tell you hi for them… Yeah, Mako and Asami are great, and they wanted me to say ‘hi’ for them too… Really? That’s wonderful, Dad. No, there’s no real reason I called…well, there’s a little favor I need to ask you, that’s all.

“You remember those penguins you sent the zoo? Well, there was this thing, and they… well, they all died. Yeah, it was…uh…pretty sudden, for sure. So anyway, I told them I’d ask if you could round up a second group and send them up here… What’s that? Varrick’s latest mover short? No, we haven’t seen it yet… What? He did what? Dad, I can explain…it just kind of happened and…Dad? Dad? QUIT LAUGHING, DAD!!!!”

Nearby, Asami sighed and shook her head. “Just another day in the life of the Avatar…” she muttered, returning to her book.

**Author's Note:**

> This actually started out as a ten-second tale, but my wife/editor told me it needed to be expanded to a full story. I always listen to her. 
> 
> The bits about penguins came from several YouTube videos I found (I was sorely disappointed that no one ever did "True Facts About the Penguin"). And the final scene...well, that was very much based on a real-life incident between my father and me. Write what you know...


End file.
